Small-Scale Soaker

I have a 'boo-boo' on the pinky finger of my right hand. Someone suggested that soaking it in Epsom salts would help relieve some of the pain. 

However, I had trouble coming up with a container small enough for one short digit.

After a thorough search in the kitchen and bathroom, I walked into the office and spied a prescription bottle left over from some cat medicine. It was just tall enough that my finger would fit, and narrow enough to only need a dash of Epsom salts and a couple of tablespoons of water.

Pen for size

Five years ago: A Curious Poem For Good Friday

A Quick Measure Of Creativity

Tonight I took the Divergent Association Task, which measures verbal creativity and divergent thinking in four minutes or less.

The test was developed by Harvard University postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jay A. Olson. It involves listing 10 nouns that are as different from each other as possible. People who are more creative tend to think of words that have greater distances between them.

I tend to overthink things and couldn't believe that I could actually complete the test in less than four minutes, so I timed myself with a stopwatch. The elapsed time from starting to hitting the submit button was 2:15! Scoring was immediate, and based on a calculation of the semantic distance between the words. Most people score between 74 and 82. Mine was 78.

Five years ago today: Heat Ho Hums

A Different After Dinner Drink

During the cool weather part of the year I often drink a cup of herbal or decaffeinated tea in the evening. I enjoy trying new flavors. The last time I was in a fancy tea shop I saw something called barley tea on the shelf.

The associate explained the roasted barley drink was a popular in many Asian countries, particularly Japan, China, and Korea. She said it had no caffeine, and many people find the drink coffee-like in taste. When I found a small bag of Apple Barley teabags in the clearance section I decided to bring it home and give it a try.

I brew my tea a cup at a time, and I'm sure a purist would shudder at my method. After my favorite mug is filled with water I add a tea bag, heat the mug in the microwave, and then let the tea brew for a few minutes before pulling the bag out.

The barley tea is nothing like the light and minty chamomile combinations, invigorating ginger blends,  or the tart and fruity hibiscus-based mixtures I usually drink, but it's a nice change of pace. Its flavor is slightly bitter, toasty, and nutty and the apple taste is barely noticeable.

 How about you? Are you a tea drinker? Have you ever had barley tea (and if so, what did you think of it)?

Five years ago today: Worth A Watch

Commandments for seniors

I'm sure you've heard the old saying "April showers bring May flowers". If that's true, the atmospheric river of rain we're scheduled to get this weekend should mean that there will be blooms everywhere! Newsweek quotes AccuWeather meteorologists, who say that a "1,000-mile swath through the central U.S. could see four months' worth of rain in only five days this week".

While I hunker down inside and stay dry, here are some funnies to ponder:

• The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.

• Just once, I want the prompt for username and password to say, “Close enough.”

• Becoming an adult is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

• I hate it when I can’t figure out how to operate the iPad and my tech support guy is asleep. He’s 5 and it’s past his bedtime.

• Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

• You don't need anger management. You need people to stop irritating you.

• Even duct tape can't fix stupid – but it sure does muffle the sound.

• Talk to yourself. There are times when you need expert advice.

• Aging has slowed you down, but it hasn't shut you up.

Dawning

Almost a month ago when I rolled out of bed, before Daylight Savings Time started for the year, there was a tiny bit of brightness coming through the blinds. After the time shift, the bedroom went back to being completely dark first thing in the morning. However, I knew that eventually the longer days would come back.

Wikimedia Commons

And they did. Last Saturday I was almost able to find my clothes in the dresser using just natural light, and according to WillyWeather, today's first light was even six minutes earlier than that, so the room was even incrementally brighter. I thought that was exciting, and so did the newly-returned birds I heard chirping outside.

Five years ago today: Take One, Leave One